Breastfeeding Vs Bottle Feeding Pros And Cons

After marriage, the decision when to have a child is quite difficult, scary and exciting. When once decided, the next decision to be taken primarily by the mother is the way to give birth to the baby, i.e., you want normal delivery or induced delivery with the help of medicines, or the latest being by surgery as it reduces pain during delivery. After this when the child is born it has to be decided about feeding the child. There are two options, feeding the child on mother milk or on formula milk.

There are people with strong views on both the options. At one time it was considered that breast milk is best for the child. With the increase of fashion, came the trend of bottle feeding. As per the latest research and finding of the medical community breast feeding of the child is recommended. It is said that breast fed child develops immunities from various diseases as the mother’s milk contains a number of natural nutrients beneficial for the child’s health and also provides proper nourishment to the child.

Apart from the medical benefit, another major benefit is the psychological and emotional bond that is created between the child and mother.

It is said that figure conscious mothers try to avoid breast feeding of the child fearing deformity in shape of the body. There is no study to confirm this fact and it should not be made a reason for not breast feeding the child.

There are disadvantages associated with breast feeding of the child. These mainly relate to working mothers who have to report for duty 6 weeks after delivery and discontinue feeding. Other disadvantages that can be listed include pain in breasts and cracked nipples which are quite painful and may require medication. Also there can be discomfort of feeding the child every three hours. In some cases due to weakness or some other problem, the mother is unable to produce enough milk and the child does not get enough feed and cries very often, as there can be no monitoring of intake quantity.

Breast feeding of the child demands food discipline of the mother, as the food intake effects the milk quality, like if mother takes too fatty food the child is likely to end up with upset stomach.

Thus one can conclude that no hard and fast rule can be drawn up, but it is generally felt that breast fed children are better nourished, they are more resistant to infections and are able to face the world better. However, in case of difficulty, a mix of the two, that is, mother’s milk and bottle milk can be adopted.